Week 7 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Looking for Complete Game at Wilmington

Football 10/25/2024 10:50:00 AM Jack Stephens, Staff Writer

Week 7 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Looking for Complete Game at Wilmington

Tony Tirado and the JCU Defense want to play a full 60-minute game at Wilmington.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The Blue Streaks hit the road this week, as they look to keep up their winning ways, against aWilmington Quakers team coming off its first win of the season.

Last week, the Blue Streaks conquered rival Baldwin Wallace in the Cuyahoga Gold Bowl, in a thriller, 20-16. After struggling offensively for the entire first half, graduate student quarterback Nick Semptimphelter completed 15-of-19 second half passes for 228 yards, guiding a 10-point second half comeback. The defense intercepted Baldwin Wallace's quarterback two times; he had only thrown one pick all season coming into the game, as JCU held the Yellow Jackets to six second half points. It was tough, team win for the Blue Streaks advanced them to 4-2 after an 0-2 start to the season.

JCU's opponent, the Wilmington Quakers, held off the Otterbein Cardinals to win their first game of the season, 31-21. The Quaker defense stole the show, scoring two defensive touchdowns in the second half, to go along with two rushing touchdowns from Isaac Ross. The Quakers snagged their first win of the season ahead of one of their toughest tests this year.

John Carroll has dominated this series winning 26 of 29 total contests and the last 13. The Blue Streaks have won this game by at least 40 points in the last ten meetings between these two programs with their largest margin of victory being a 69-0 Blue Streak victory in 2014. The last Wilmington win came in 2009, which was the Quakers' lone win that season.

Game Notes
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The Offenses

JCU

A week ago, the Blue Streaks amassed their second lowest scoring game of the season, only scoring 20 points, but the offense showed tremendous toughness in their fourth win of the 2024 campaign. Semptimphelter is the driving force behind this JCU passing attack that ranks fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Bucknell transfer also leads the OAC in passing yards per game (236.2) and third in touchdown passes (14).

Semtimphelter's top target has been Nicholls State transfer Tyren Montgomery, who also had a big day against the Yellow Jackets. The veteran hauled in four passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 42 yards on one attempt. The deep threat receiver currently ranks third in the OAC in yards per reception (18.0) and fourth in touchdown catches (5). Sophomore Dorian Facen Jr has also had an impressive season, catching 22 balls for 224 yards and two touchdowns. In the red zone, Semptimphelter has looked to North Alabama transfer tight end Kenneth Rawls and he has produced all season. Last week, the graduate student caught the game winning touchdown pass. On the season, Rawls has caught 10 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

Head Coach Jeff Behrman continues to ride the hot hand when it comes to the ground game, having three tailbacks eclipsing 200 rushing yards. Last week, Nemo Jenkins got a bulk of the carries, with seven for a team-high 63 yards and a touchdown. The Wilmington transfer may see lots of time again this week. Two weeks ago, it was sophomore Quincy Newsom who rushed for 111 yards on 12 carries and a career-high four touchdowns. Senior Evan McVay is the last piece to the puzzle. The Aurora product has been more of a swiss army knife, having 236 yards rushing and 128 yards receiving and three total touchdowns. The Wilmington defense has allowed a conference-worst 298.5 yards per game on the ground, so look for Coach Behrman to lean into his deep backfield in his offensive game plan.

WILMINGTON

In order to keep pace with the Blue Streaks, who are knocking on the door of the top 25, the Quakers are going to need to score points. This will fall on the shoulders of junior quarterback Isaac Ross. A true dual threat quarterback, Ross has thrown for 848 yards, which ranks sixth in the OAC, while also rushing for three touchdowns after missing two games. However, turnovers have been an issue, as the Bayfield product has thrown six interceptions, which is less than only one other quarterback in the OAC.

Thirty percent of the Quakers receiving yards have come from senior wide receiver Lathan Jones. A big target, standing at 6'3", Jones has caught 20 passes for 310 yards. He has yet to hit pay dirt on the season, but the Blue Streaks will need to pay extra attention to the big wideout.

Freshman tailback Kai Smith has been the bell cow back for the Quakers this season. Standing at 5'7", only 165 pounds, the back currently sits eighth in the OAC in rushing yards (335), averaging 6.4 yards per carry, which ranks fourth in the OAC among qualified rushers. The Blue Streaks will need to shut out the Quaker ground game in order to come away with their fifth win of the year, and that starts with stopping Smith.

The Defenses

JCU

A week ago, the Blue Streaks put on a defensive masterclass in the running game against the Yellow Jackets, holding them to a season low 34 net rushing yards. The Baldwin Wallace quarterback did throw for 277 yards, but the secondary forced two interceptions, in holding the Yellow Jackets to their second lowest scoring game of the season.

Senior linebacker Tyler Thimons was all over the field on Saturday, accounting for a game-high 14 total tackles and three assisted tackles for loss. The Pittsburgh product currently leads the team with 49 total tackles on the season. The graduate student has also tallied 234 career tackles, within striking distance of a top 10 spot on the John Carroll all-time career tackle list. Sophomore Tony Tirado also had a big day a week ago, tallying his first two career sacks, to go along with four total tackles, wreaking havoc on the quarterback all afternoon long. The front seven has been the dominant unit on the JCU defense, allowing 111 rush yards a game, which ranks third in the OAC.

The secondary was challenged facing one of the best passing attacks in the OAC a week ago, and they showed up. Sophomore Thomas Niedherst and freshman Dylan Crasi hauled in their first career interceptions, both on incredible plays. Coming into the contest, the Yellow Jacket quarterback had only thrown one interception. Sophomore Jacob Hufnagel racked up a season high eight total tackles, when covering the best Yellow Jacket receiver. The John Carroll secondary currently sits at sixth in the OAC in passing yards allowed, as they continue to find their footing as a unit minus captain Chris Golson.

WILMINGTON

The Quaker defense has struggled to find any footing this season, giving up almost 50 points per game, but they are coming off of their best performance of the season heading into their matchup with the Blue Streaks. Last week against the Otterbein Cardinals, the defense scored defensive touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to end the third and begin the fourth to give the Quakers the victory. Junior linebacker Jayden Fulsom and sophomore Gavan Hunter made the game-changing plays for the Quakers.

Sophomore defensive back Samuel Brooks leads the Quakers in tackles with 34, while also tallying an interception, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Freshman defensive lineman Michael Williams Jr. leads Wilmington with two sacks and four tackles for loss and 23 total tackles. The Quakers will lean on their front seven in order to shut down the Blue Streak run game and get to Semptimphelter in order to pull off the upset.

Special Teams

Last week, special teams were an issue for the Blue Streaks with two missed kicks and a blocked field goal. However, sophomore Colin Schuler has proven to have a strong leg, connecting on a 45-yard field goal earlier in the season, which is the longest field goal of any kicker in the OAC. In the punting game, Owen Schuckert has continued to show out, as he sits inside the top 20 in the country in net punting.

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